


Matchstick

by chaoticlywise



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aliens Made Them Do It, BAMF Happy Hogan, Gen, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Worried Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 16:54:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticlywise/pseuds/chaoticlywise
Summary: “Hell no,” Tony says, getting Peter and Happy to look at him. “We are not contemplating if this is some sort of… monster or not,” he fumbles. “I have been through way too much shit - aliens, robots, the whole shabang - just to have to deal with the Boogeyman. We aren’t the Ghostbusters.”“The Ghostbusters and the Boogeyman aren’t even the same thing-”“I don’t give a single shit what they are,” Tony practically yells. “You know what? I’m calling Rhodey and were getting outta here.” He says as he grabs his phone out of his pocket and dials the numbers he knows so well.Or:For Halloween, Tony invites Peter to the Compound to spend some time with him and the other Avengers. However, it doesn’t go as planned when Happy, Peter and Tony get in a car crash in the middle of nowhere. Tony doesn’t think it can get worse until a rustling in the woods catches his attention.





	Matchstick

**Author's Note:**

> I take recommendations (being creative and original is hard lol)! If you would like to recommend a fic, you can comment it on my most recent fic or ask me on Tumblr (@chaoticlywise). Happy reading and hit me up with some prompts!

Peter adjusts in the leather seat, the giddy feeling from earlier replaced with nervous dread. He turns to face Tony who’s sitting next to him, typing something on his phone. Happy sits in the driver's seat, keeping a watchful eye on the busy road ahead. Cars speed past them, honking at each other in the busy streets of New York.

“Mister Stark?” Peter breaks the silence. Tony hums in response, still typing on his phone. Peter takes a deep breath in and plays with the torn sleeves of his school hoodie. “I was thinking, maybe this is a bad idea? Like, the team doesn’t even know me that well-”

“Bullshit,” Tony interrupts, pocketing his phone and taking his glasses off. He looks sharp, as per usual, but maybe a little more so tonight. This is the first team party after everything with the snap and the Rogues pardon so everyone was a little nervous. Tony had insisted that Peter came to this party since he was an honorary Avengers. He was only going because of Tony’s superb persuasion skills (‘Thor loves Halloween, Pete, and he is a hoot when he’s drunk. You have to come!’). “The team, like, adores you. It’s almost gross,” Tony goes on, rolling his eyes. “They're all like ‘when’s Peter coming back?’ ‘he’s our favorite Avenger!’” He mocks in a high pitched voice. Peter snorts and pushes Tony’s arm. Happy huffs a laugh from the front seat. 

“No, no, I’m just saying,” Peter says, voice still full of little giggles. “I just- I dunno. Do you think I really, like, belong there? It’s just you guys are the Avengers and I’m a- kid from Queens, you know?”

“Hey, stop- thinking,” Tony says, flicking Peter’s temple slightly. “I think you’re overthinking. They know you’re Spidey, no biggy, right? So what’s bothering you?”

“Uh, just- what if they don’t like me-me?”

“Christ- kid,” Tony chuckles humorlessly. “If you think the team doesn’t like you, you-you, then you’re dead wrong. You got Natasha Romanov to like you. Do you know how hard that is? That’s harder than getting any lie detector test to trust you. So, trust me kid, they love you.”

Peter sighs and leans his head back against the headrest. From his peripheral view, Peter can see Tony copy him dramatically. Peter turns his head towards Tony and the older man juts out his bottom lip in an over-exaggerated pout. Peter snorts again and looks out the window.

“I just… feel like something is gonna go wrong tonight,” Peter explains, still staring out the window. He can feel Tony’s worried eyes on the back of his head. “My spidey-sense has been pinging all day.”

“That’s probably the reason you’re so on edge,” Tony says gently. “You’re just stressed something’s gonna happen. But, I personally promise you that nothing bad will happen tonight. All fun stuff. Scary movies, candy, popcorn, watching Thor get drunk off his ass on that Asgardian alcohol he’s got. It’s gonna be great. Really, Pete.” Peter nods slowly. It makes sense. He was just… stressed over all of this.

——————————————————————

Peter and Tony make small talk for the next half hour with Happy butting in every so often. The knot in Peter’s stomach starts to loosen to almost nonexistent.

“-and that’s the story of how I got rid of my fourth babysitter,” Tony says. Peter’s laughing so hard, it physically hurts. But it’s a good hurt. His stomach aches lightly like how it does after a good workout. Tony’s laughing too and Peter can tell Happy’s trying his best to keep his eyes on the road. There aren’t any streetlights or buildings anymore, just a long stretch of road with trees on either side as rain gently lands on the road and car windows. Upstate is gorgeous. “Yeah, it was super weird to be almost a teenager and still have a babysitter.”

“I never really had a babysitter,” Peter says softly, after he gets control over his breathing again. Tony raises an eyebrow at him like he’s saying 'really? You never had a babysitter? Okay, and I’m 21 years old and don’t have PTSD'. Peter huffs a small laugh. “Okay, okay, I had one babysitter. He… wasn’t very nice. I’m not even sure if I should really even count him as a babysitter.”

“What was his name?” Tony asks softly. Happy pretends to not be paying attention to the suddenly serious conversation. Peter appreciates that.

“Skip. Uh, Skip Westcott,” Peter stammers, voice incredibly quiet. “Yeah, he was real rough around the edges.”

“Uh-huh,” Tony hums a little dryly. “Well, if you ever need to talk-”

“Wait,” Peter interrupts. There’s an urgent undertone in his voice. His spidey-sense is going off loudly in the base of his head, a sort of pinching feeling goes up and down his back, neck and arms. Tony stiffens next to him, knowing that Peter senses something bad. “Something’s wrong-”

“Shit-!” Happy calls out as the car swerves to the side. The car spins for a moment on wet pavement and then they hit something roughly. The seat belt stops Peter from hitting his face on the back of Happy’s seat but not his own window. Something shatters and someone is yelling something but his ears are ringing. He coughs, smoke is getting in the car and stuck in his lungs and he can’t breathe-

Large, calloused hands grab his upper arm and tug harshly. His eyes snap open and are met with Tony’s wide, worried ones. He’s saying something but the ringing is still there.

“-id? Peter! Can you hear me?” Tony’s words filter in. Peter takes a second to make sense of them before nodding. “Okay, okay good. We gotta get outta here. The car’s gonna- it’s gonna explode. C’mon-”

Tony presses his thumb down on the seatbelt release when Peter makes no move go get out of the car. It clicks uselessly. Blood drips down Peter’s temple as Tony frantically presses the button with no success. 

“Fuckin- Happy!” Tony calls out. The door next to Peter opens suddenly and when the teen turns around, Happy is standing there, sending worried looks at him and Tony. He doesn’t look too bad, a few cuts here and there along with some soot but otherwise fine. Peter lets out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding in and leans his head back against the headrest. He coughs violently, body wracking. “Hap, there’s a box cutter in the glove compartment, go get it so I can cut through this.”

“Yeah, totally,” Happy stumbles in over his words in his haste to get to the compartment. Peter opens his heavy eyes and watches Happy grab the cutter and throw it to Tony who promptly starts to saw through the thing that was supposed to keep him safe. 

Peter can’t help but think that this situation doesn’t even feel real. Like none of this can actually be happening right now. But the burn in his lungs from the smoke says otherwise.

The seatbelt breaks and Happy grabs Peter from under his arms, behind him, and drags him out of the car. Tony is out right after, ushering Happy - who was still helping the limping teen walk - over to the other side of the road where they watch the car quickly become engulfed in flames.

Tony’s eyes widen as he realizes something Happy and Peter don’t. He shoves Peter, Happy and himself behind one of the trees. “C’mon, c’mon-” Tony mutters before being cut off by a loud explosion. 

Peter gasps, covers his ears and belatedly realizes that it was the car that had just blown up. He could’ve died in the car if it weren’t for Tony and Happy’s quick actions and thinking. 

Once the explosion dies down, Tony swivels around to do a quick once over of Peter and then abruptly turns on Happy.

“What in ever loving fuck was that about?” Tony asks, almost yelling, all playfulness from earlier gone. He sounds pissed and a little… scared? 

“There was an animal,” Happy explains, his voice is shaking. “I have- no idea what it was. It didn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before. I just swerved out of the way and hit that tree.”

Tony sighs heavily and massages the bridge of his nose. “That’s- fine. It’s okay,” he says. He then turns towards Peter, eyes flitting worriedly over him. “You okay, kiddo?” He asks, stepping forward and slinging an arm over his shoulder as Peter nods. 

“Happy?” Peter questions. “You said the animal was like nothing you’ve ever seen before?” He asks. Happy nods jerkily. “What did it look like?”

“I dunno,” Happy says, trying a failing to think back on the traumatic incident. “It was small and kinda pale looking-”

“Oh, hell no,” Tony says, getting Peter and Happy to look at him. “We are not contemplating if this is some sort of… monster or not,” he fumbles. “I have been through way too much shit - aliens, robots, the whole shabang - just to have to deal with the Boogeyman. We aren’t the Ghostbusters.”

“The Ghostbusters and the Boogeyman aren’t even the same thing-”

“I don’t give a single shit what they are!” Tony practically yells. “You know what? I’m calling Rhodey and were getting outta here.” He says as he grabs his phone out of his pocket and dials the numbers he knows so well. 

“Tones?” Rhodey answers. There’s soft music and talking in the background of the call and Tony only feels a little bad for interrupting but then he remembers the situation he's in right now. “Hey man, when are you and the kid gonna get here? I hate to say it but we’re all really bored without you here.”

“Yeah, uh, about that,” Tony says as he stares at the wreck of once beautiful machinery. “We had an accident. We need a lift.”

“Oh, my god- Tony, are you guys alright?” Rhodey asks worriedly. Tony can hear the conversations slowly stop and a deep voice that he associates with the Captain ask if they’re okay. “What even happened?”

“Yeah, we’re good, a little shaken up but we’re all physically fine,” Tony says. He’s becoming really tired of all the small talk. He just wants to get his kid to the Compound and stay there for the next couple of days doing nothing but watch reruns of old shows. “An animal ran across the road right in front of Hap and he swerved to get out of the way. No biggie but it would be nice if you could get here soon.” He says as the rain turns from a mist to more of a drizzle. 

“Sure, sure,” Rhodey says sounding a little distracted. “Clint’s tracking your location now. Do us a favor and don’t hang up for a minute."

“Sure thing,” Tony says back. He’s about to make another sassy comment when something like a stick snaps behind them. From in the woods. Peter turns quickly, trying to get a look at what it was and Happy squints into the forest on the other side of the road, next to the burning car. Fear creeps up on Tony before he can stop it. “What the fuck?”

“Tony, what?” Rhodey asks. “Is something wrong?”

“We thought we heard- nothing,” Tony amends, looking in the same direction as Peter had been before he looked to Tony worriedly. “Just… we’re just psyching ourselves out. It’s nothing.”

“Okay,” Rhodey says, drawing the word out and sounding unbelieving. “We have your location so just stay there until we can get there. Call if anything goes wrong.”

“Yep, will do.”

“Tony,” Rhodey says exasperatedly. “I’m being serious, call if you need anything.”

“Okay, mom, will do.” Tony quips. At Rhodey’s unamused silence, Tony sighs. “What? Do you want me to promise? Fine. I promise to call if we need something.”

“Thank you, Tony,” Rhodey says still sounding a little frustrated. “Steve, Nat and I are coming to get you guys so just get comfy for a little while ‘cause we’re an hour out.”

“Okie dokie,” Tony says putting on his usual snarky facade. “See you soon, Platypus.” He says as he hangs up.

“So what’s the deal?” Happy asks as soon as Tony hangs up. “Is someone coming to get us or are we gonna have to walk an hour to the Compound?”

“Nope,” Tony says, popping the ‘p’. “Nat, Rhodes and Stevie Boy are coming to pick us up and since grandpa is probably driving, we should settle in for a little while.”

Peter groans dramatically but Tony can tell he’s not really upset about it. “These woods are super creepy,” he notes turning to face the two older men and then pointing an accusatory finger at Tony. “Did you really have to choose the spookiest place in the world to build the Compound?”

Tony throws up his hands in a fake surrender and shrugs a little. “In my defense, it’s really nice during the day,” he says as Happy nods along with his statement. “At night though… I see where you’re coming from.” 

The car crackles dangerously from on the street, small pops and fizzles make it seem like it might explode again. They’re all a little uneasy and Tony can tell. Hell, he’s been through worse but this feels like the most terrifying thing he’s ever experienced. “Here, uh, let’s walk a little away from the actual car wreck. I don’t think it will explode again but it still doesn’t feel safe.”

“Good, I’m glad,” Peter says sounding slightly worried. “My spidey-sense won’t, like, turn off? I dunno but I agree with you, Mister Stark. We should go.”

“Amen,” Happy agrees. “This whole situation is just shitty. I’m really sorry, Tony. And to you too, kid.” 

“It’s okay, Happy,” Peter says easily. “We don’t blame you.”

“I agree with the kid, for once,” Tony says and Peter fake glares at him again. “Not your fault a weird animal doesn’t know not to jaywalk.” This time, it’s Happy that glares at him.

So, they start to walk. Their footsteps are deafeningly loud in the dead silence of night. It creeps Tony out more than he’d care to admit. Where the hell are all the bugs? 

They get far enough away that Tony starts to feel comfortable so he has them stop and take a quick rest. Might as well meet Rhodey and Co. halfway, right? However, it’s then that Tony notices how badly Peter is shivering, the mist landing softly in his hair, making it curl softly.

“You good, kid?” Tony asks softly, gaining both Peter’s attention and Happy’s. Happy’s head whips around to look at the kid just as he shrugs.

“I’m good,” he says. Tony gives him a disapproving look and Peter shrinks in on himself slightly but it’s enough to make him feel bad. “I’m a little cold.”

Tony nods and takes off his suit jacket and drapes it around the kids shoulders. If he’s a little cold and gets the flu later, so be it. The kid is more important, always. But Peter, being the stubborn ass he is, has to protest the action. 

“Mister Stark, you really don’t have to do this,” Peter claims, going to shrug the jacket off and give it back to the older man. “We’ll be at the Compound super soon so it’s not like its a huge deal.”

“Really?” Tony asks rhetorically. “Hey, you remember that one time when you were dropped into the Hudson and almost froze to death after you were out of the water? ‘Cause I do. Vividly, in fact-”

“Okay!” Peter interrupts, laughing a little awkwardly. “We get it, you and I both were scarred for life from that.” Peter pulls the jacket around him a little more firmly, tucking his fingers into the folds and over-sized sleeves. “Thank you for the jacket, Tony.”

“Anytime, kid.” Tony says as he ruffles the kids hair. 

——————————————————————

“Did you know the light of the moon is actually just the reflection of the sun?” Peter asks suddenly. They’d been waiting for almost 5 minutes when Peter had started to shake so hard, his teeth actually started to chatter so they decided to start to walk again.

That was 25 minutes ago. Tony knew Rhodey, Natasha and Steve would be there soon but it didn’t feel like soon enough. 

“Really?” Happy humors the kid. “I guess my old man brain forgot that from 7th grade science.” He shrugs. Peter puffs a laugh and Tony can see the breath of air float out in front of them. It’s more than a little concerning. He tugs Peter towards him and tucks him under his arm. He’s pleasantly surprised when Peter huddles up into his side.

The soft moment ruined, however, by another twig snapping in the woods beside them. They all stop in their tracks, trying to see what made the branch snap, all of them more than a little on edge. There’s a bit more rustling before it goes completely silent and it feels like the world around them stills. Halted to a stop.

“The hell?” Happy breathes out. Tony can’t help but feel a little defenseless. He doesn’t have a suit on him since he took the nano-housing out for his and Pepper’s wedding and then never put it back in after a few months. Sue him if he was enjoying being a normal person for once.

“Hey!” Tony calls out, startling Peter. He only has time to feel bad for a moment before another, quicker cracking noise sounds from in the woods but this time, it’s closer. “Whoever’s in there, whatever game you think you’re playing, it’s not funny! Ha-ha, we get it, you pranked an Avenger but it’s not all that funny! Why don’t you just come out here and we can talk?”

“Tony, stop,” Peter says and there’s a almost desperate undertone to it that makes a defensive feeling curl deep in his gut and he can’t help but think it feels a little parental. Peter’s eyebrows furrow and his nose scrunches up in the way it does when he’s in deep thought. “Something’s up.”

“Shit- Tony, you think it’s whatever I almost hit?” Happy asks, clearly unnerved. Tony scoffs. “No, I’m being serious, Tony. What if it’s hunting us?”

“Cut it out, Hap,” he says a little more aggressively than he means. “It’s probably just one of the Compounds neighbors taking a high hike or something.”

“In the middle of the night on Halloween?” Peter asks rhetorically. “I don’t think so.” He says, eyes squinted into the looming forest.

There’s a loud crackling noise, like something’s being forcibly ripped out of the ground. It’s almost dead silent for a moment again when there’s a god awful groaning and creaking. Tony has never felt smaller than in this moment as a loud, resounding thud echos through the forest in front of them. The three stand just out of the woods, dumbfounded. 

“What in the living fuck was that?” Happy asks, his voice a soft whisper of barely concealed terror. Peter steps forward, towards the forest with creepy-ass sounds and possibly something dangerous. 

“We should check it out-”

“Literally- stop talking, Pete,” Tony says, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. “We aren’t going in there. We are gonna wait for the others to come get us and I will check it out by myself later.”

“If there’s nothing in there, why are you so nervous about us going in?” Peter asks, a hint of defiance in his voice. Tony glares at both Peter and Happy, not all completely playful like before. 

They stand, glaring at each other for a long moment, neither of them backing down. Tony really wished Peter would just give up right about now but it seemed like once he got the idea stuck in his head, he was going to do it, with or without Tony and Happy. 

And, well… Tony just couldn’t have that. Couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to Peter while he tried to prove some incredibly stupid point. Tony sighs.

“Fine,” Tony says. Peter’s face instantly light up in a smug smile. “But- Happy and I are coming with you.”

Peter continues to smile. “I didn’t expect any less.”

They walk cautiously into the woods, although Tony knows Peter is itching to get a look at what had happened. Peter walks slightly ahead of both Tony and Happy, bringing a whole new kind of anxiety rolling in his stomach.

“Wait,” Peter says suddenly. He’s got that look on his face again as he walks slowly towards a fallen down tree. He stops almost as suddenly as he spoke, looking down on something behind the fallen tree and out of view. “I think I know the cause of the noise, guys.”

Tony makes his way over quickly, looking down at what captured his kids attention. 

It’s a giant… hole? Tony almost wants to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Nothing seems too odd, just a hole that an animal dug up while looking for something. 

“Really, kid?” Tony asks. “I’ll be honest, this is kinda a letdown, Pete.”

“No,” Peter insists, pointing at the edges of the hole. “Look.” 

And Tony does see what the kid means then. It’s not just any hole and animal dug up - or one a human might have. It’s a complete, perfect circle. Like a dome. No roots sticking out, no worms or snakes slithering out of hiding. It’s as if someone made a barrier around it. 

And then he notices something else even more strange. There are no animals or bugs hanging around it. The dead silence from earlier is making a strange sort of since. Even the squirrels that hop around the trees every so often stay away from it.

“What is this?” Peter asks softly. Tony’s about to say something like ‘I don’t care, let’s get you guys safe and outta here,’ when there’s more creaking and groaning noises but now that they’re in the woods, it sounds like it’s coming from everywhere, all around them. The three of them make eye contact before letting their eyes flit around to try and see what they had been trying to see all night.

There’s a snarl from behind them. Across the pit.

Almost comically slow, the three of them turn around to face it. And that’s really what it is in the long run. An it.

It’s body is grotesque and twisted and mangled. It was pale, almost a papery white and muscles bulged out of four strong legs. It looked almost like a weird greyhound. It smelled horrific. Like decaying bodies and death. But it’s face was a million times worse. Milky eyes to match the skin and a mouth full of sharp, viscous looking teeth that dripped with saliva and what looked like blood. It was every nightmare Tony had ever, and ones he hadn't, had twisted into one. 

Car tires screeching around a corner is heard from the road along with a honking of a horn and headlights flash into the woods, making the whatever the hell thing is in front of them flinch back and run further into the forest.

A car door slams open and three sets of footsteps get out. The car turns off. “Tones!” Tony faintly hears his name being called. He gapes at the spot where his death was waiting for him just moments before. Blinks owlishly. Takes in a ragged breath. Lets it out. “Tony, man, where are you?!” 

“Peter? Happy!” Steve can be heard calling out. Peter is the first to react, whispering urgently to the other two.

“Let’s go,” he whispers, not taking his eyes off the fading, pale figure. Happy nods. Tony’s world is at a standstill. “Tony,” Peter stresses. “Can we go? Please?” 

Tony reacts all at once, jolting as he grabs one of Peter’s arms and one of Happy’s and hauls ass out of there. “Lets go, lets go, lets go,” he mumbles under his breath, words incredibly close to slurring. There's a sudden snarl from behind them as they make their retreat. Tony turns his head to see the whatever the hell it is slowly making its way towards them. Stalking its prey. “Fucking hell- Rhodey!” He yells out onto the street. “Natasha, Steve! We’re in here!” 

“Tones?” Rhodey calls into the woods, sounding worried. “The hell are you doing in here?”

“Start- start the car!” Tony yells back. At this point, they can see the car faintly in the treeline and three looming figures. The tallest one - probably Steve - sprints towards the car and starts it. The other two start to make their way into the woods. Tony gapes. These idiots are unbelievable. “Don’t come in here!”

The figures stop as Tony, Happy and Peter just make it onto the road. “Tony, what-” Natasha starts before Tony cuts her off.

“Car,” he stresses. “Get in the car.” 

All six of them scramble into the car, not bothering to buckle as Steve picks up context clues from the tense line of Tony’s shoulders and speeds away with a sharp u-turn. 

“What was that?” Rhodey asks. “Why were you in the woods in the middle of the night on Halloween when you were supposed to be at the Compound?” 

Tony shakes his head. “Tell you later,” he mumbles. When Rhodey gives him a questioning glance, Tony just nods his head towards Peter, the only one who buckled up after Steve made his abrupt escape. Peter, who was still shaking and Tony wasn’t sure if it was from the cold of the fear deep seeded in his bones. Peter, who was just a kid and shouldn’t be going through any of this but was. 

God, Tony felt like a shit mentor right about now. 

Peter fidgets in his seat, this time for different reasons than before. Tony can tell he’s still uneasy. Tony takes his hand and grabs Peters, squeezing softly until Peter looks at him. Tony gives him what he hopes is a reassuring smile and squeezes again. Peter smiles back but it’s closed lipped and doesn’t meet his eyes like it normally does. 

This is where Tony’s hand stays for the rest of the ride, two of his fingers resting on Peter’s pulse point, even when it does slow. 

——————————————————————

Tony only breathes a sigh of relief when the Compound is in his sights. He’s tense even when he walks into the Compound, sending nervous looks at the woods surrounding the Compound. He’s gonna redo the whole thing, starting with new, thicker, stronger Stark-made bullet proof glass-

“Mister Stark?” Peter’s voice cuts through his jumbled thoughts like no one else can. It’s still a little shaky, more than Tony would ever like it to be. He never should have let Peter or Happy go into those woods. “Are you okay?” 

Tony is completely taken aback. Was he okay? 'No', his brain supplies unhelpfully. 'I will be better when I get you safely into your room or the lab where I can protect you'. Tony smiles softly at the kid. It was kinda weird to be this vulnerable, this soft, to Peter around the other Avengers, even if he knew they knew he had a soft spot for the spider-kid. “Yeah,” he says instead, ruffling Peter’s hair playfully. “I’m good.”

“No to ruin this sweet moment,” Natasha interrupts. She points at Peter’s head. “That’s still kinda bleeding a lot.”

Tony turns on Peter quickly, really just now taking notice of the state of one of his best friends and his kid. He notices just how much his left wrist hurts then, too. “Yeah,” Tony sighs again. “Probably best we get this looked at. Bruce?” He turns to the said man, who just walked in the entry room along with Thor, Sam and Clint. “You mind helping us out on that front?”

Bruce nods and gestures to the direction of the medbay. “Sure, shall we?”

They quickly make their way down to the medbay with Thor trailing behind Bruce like a lost puppy. That was happening a lot lately, Tony had noticed. Bruce told him they had become close during his time in space and Thor had just… stuck with him. It was an odd pair but if it worked for them, who was Tony to say anything? Especially when he was the one parading around a 17 year old kid and letting him fight crime in Queens in a suit he built. 

Once they get to the medbay, Happy and Tony insist that Peter is the first to be looked over. Bruce agrees and Peter complains. Thor sits quietly on one of the unused observation tables.

“Mister Parker, you are one lucky young man,” Bruce says as he pulls the penlight away from his eyes, watching the pupils undilate. “No concussion here. But this cut will need a butterfly bandage.” 

“Yeah,” Peter scoffs a little, rolling his eyes good naturedly. “Parker Luck.” He mumbles as Bruce fixes the bandages on his temple. Tony stands next to Peter the whole time, pretending not to notice the looks Happy is giving him while he holds the kids hand.

“Alright, get your butt up here,” Tony says to Happy as soon as the kid hops down from the table. “Your turn.”

Happy gets a wrap around his arm, over a harsh looking burn on his arm and some strong pain meds . How had Tony not noticed that?

“Alrighty, Tony it’s your turn,” Bruce announces after he finishes with Happy, who leaves promptly to go take the meds and lay down. Peter stays. Bruce does some basic exams on Tony and when all of them come back okay, he begins to ask some questions. “Are you experiencing any physical pain? Or any internal?” 

“Ah, my left wrist actually,” Tony admits. Bruce raises his eyebrow, almost unbelieving. “Shut up.” He grumbles.

“Wow,” Bruce says, slightly sarcastic as he takes Tony’s wrist into his hand. “It must really be bothering you if you actually tell me about it.”

“Whatever.” 

——————————————————————

Halloween doesn’t end the way Tony had planned it. It ends with all the Avengers - including Pepper - sprawled out in the living room and watching whatever comes on. 

Tony sits with Peter in the middle of him and Pepper on one of the sofas. He doses in and out on Tony’s shoulder and he realizes that he hardly minds. It’s actually comforting to have both Peter and Pepper there with him. 

Tony feels stronger in front of the team when they’re there with him. It’s like having a blocker or a wall. A shield. Pepper is a complete badass, if someone said something regrettable to her, she would let it just bounce right off and reflect back at them. Peter was a different story. No one dared to even look at Tony wrong as they knew an angry teenager with superpowers since they knew that could end worse for them than for Peter. 

Peter’s head lolls to the side, softly leaning his head on Tony’s chest. Almost subconsciously, his hand moves up to his hair. Tony can feel Pepper’s eyes on him, not oppressive like how the others might look at him and Peter. Soft and warm almost like how his mom’s once was.

He looks up and around, the movie still plays quietly in the background. Most of the occupants look asleep or close to it. Clint and Natasha sit on the floor next to each other, both of them dosing lightly. Sam is almost snoring on the rocking chair in the corner, the bucket of candy they were all planning on eating droops in his arms, some of the candies lay haphazardly on the floor. Bruce and Thor sleep on the loveseat. Wanda and Vision sit on a large beanbag on the floor, cuddling and half-asleep/half-awake watching the movie. 

It’s then that Tony catches Steve’s gaze from across the room, sitting on a big, swivel chair near Sam, staring at them. Tony tugs Peter a little closer and glares back. If Pepper notices, she doesn’t say anything. 

Steve looks away eventually but Tony can’t help but wonder what the hell that was about. He’ll ask him later but right now, Tony just wants to live in the moment with the people he cares about most in the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Wowza, this took a hot second to write omg. I started this on october 12 (this year, don’t worry) and I just finished it on the 24th and have been making minor edits since then. So yeah, I’ve been working on this for a minute. The title really has nothing to do with the actual fic itself it’s more like everything happens so quickly, just like striking a matchstick. Anywhooo, comments and kudos are much appreciated.


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